ASIA/INDONESIA - Provocateurs behind anti-Christian violence in Sulawesi and Moluccas: Christians resolve to keep the peace

Friday, 4 November 2005

Ambon Fides Service) - Police on the alert, army troops presiding public places and buildings, stricter control at road blocks: these are some of the measures adopted by the authorities in the Indonesian province Moluccas Islands following recent episodes of violence. There is growing tension in Moluccas since it became known that three Protestant school girls were beheaded and a fourth was injured in Poso, in nearby Sulawesi, and more recently in Ambon a bomb exploded near a church.
There is widespread fear of a new outbreak of the conflict which devastated Moluccas and Sulawesi between 1999 and 2002 when a few violent episodes operated by a network of provocateurs sparked a chain of reaction which exploded in armed conflict between Muslims and Protestant Christians.
According to local Catholic sources, fearing a repeat of violence, local authorities, civil and religious leaders are taking steps to defuse the eventuality of clashes.
Both Muslim and Christian leaders in the area say politics not religion was the motivation behind the barbarous beheading of school girls in Poso. Catholic Bishop Joseph Suwatan in Poso, where the people are still under shock, said investigators suspect extremists acting as “third party” to spark uncontrolled reaction from one of the sides. However the Bishop said Christians, both Protestants and Catholics, were determined not to react and to keep the peace despite the horrendous attack on the innocent school girls.
Among episodes of distension in Ambon, it is worth noting that thanks to the good atmosphere between Christians and Muslims recently the Muhammadia School di Ambon added seven Christian teachers to its staff of docents. It is quite possible that Muslim teachers may soon be asked to teach in Christian schools.
What is more in Ambon the end of Ramadan Muslim feast Id-al-Fitr saw in many places an interweaving of different religious communities united in the name of dialogue, tolerance, peace and celebration. Catholic Bishop of Amboina diocese Petrus Canisius Mandagi took part. On the eve of the important Muslim festivity the Bishop had urged Christians to take part in the celebrations and create a peaceful atmosphere.
(PA) (Agenzia Fides 4/11/2005 Righe: 25 Parole: 276)


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